THE GUESS WHO Road Food (1974)

Road Food(1974)
GW’s Harmonic Ode To The Road

The Guess Who were a great singles band, but unless you were a fan you may not have realized how entertaining their albums were. Next to the radio-friendly hits were sometimes bizarre and decidedly non-commercial offerings. While leader Burton Cummings’ biographical balladeering could sometimes be self-indulgent, inside jokes and comic forays were curious sidetracks from the group’s spontaneously rockin‘ stoner fun. Road Food is my favorite, though I’d be the first to admit it might pale next to greats like Share The Land (HERE), So Long Bannatyne (HERE) and another personal fave, Rockin‘ (HERE). Those are all post-Randy Bachman releases that spotlight replacement guitarist/writer Kurt Winter. This was Winter’s last with the band… and The Guess Who were never the same after his departure. Road Food rocks with full harmonies and even a concept, of sorts, about life on the road. For this 2012 reissue, the original CD’s side reversal has been fixed, so that the album now begins with the pre-LP 45, “Star Baby” (a groupie diary that should have been a hit, with a quiet “fuck” slipped into the fade) and ends appropriately with Cummings biographical summation, “Ballad Of The Last Five Years” (roughly Winter’s tenure). The reissue sounds better, features two bonus tracks, has fantastic, unflinching liner notes (included, or click each page below for a pop-up enlargement) and is at Amazon, HERE.

Star Baby (2:40)Attila’s Blues (4:55)Straighten Out (2:26)Don’t You Want Me? (2:22)One Way Road To Hell (5:27)Clap For The Wolfman (4:18)Pleasin’ For Reason (3:19)Road Food (3:41)Ballad Of The Last Five Years (7:17)Sona Sona (Remix) (3:24) – Bonus TrackOne Way Road To Hell (Run-Through) (7:06)- Bonus Track

10 Comments

I bought a worn copy of this LP from the Salvation Army around 1981 (in Winnipeg the used bins used to be pretty thick with old Guess Who albums). Their albums gradually got less charming as they went along and this one still had its moments.

I'm only familar with the Guess Who through the greatest hits albums, and I prefer to hear albums the way they were made, so how about a listing of the best albums by the Guess Who, with a short review or sentence or two as to why you like them…would appreciate your input.

Thanks for the challenge Dave, but we've got some of our older Guess Who posts almost ready to re-post again, so there will be a bunch more coming up in a few days. Then you'll have a bunch (including some of my faves mentioned in this post), with essays on each, to choose from. Thanks.

At the time it was a much needed (American) hit for the band, and these days Burt’s an unabashed crowd pleaser. But… I fully understand your sentiment. At least it didn’t turn you off the rest of this excellent album. Thanks for chiming in.

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